Boat people

The mystery of the Boat People. These are the one million refugees from Southeast Asia who came to the United States at the end of the Vietnam War. Why did these youngsters most of whom could not speak English with little more than the clothes on their backs do so well in school. The families came from ordinary backgrounds. Many of the parents had had little education. Many of the families had spent months or years in Asian refugee camps before reaching the U.S., so their children`s education had been disrupted. Most could not speak English and knew little or nothing about American life. If American schools are so inadequate, so far behind those in other industrialized nations, how come they are doing such a great job of educating the Indochinese refugee children? Is it possible that the answer is not in the schools but the family culture. The schools these Indochinese refugee children attended were in low-income, urban areas and were not noted for academic achievement. Homework was the focus of Asian refugee family life on weeknights. The whole family gathered around a table working together. Teachers who were interviewed agreed that the achievement was not a matter of luck but of hard work. This leads to the obvious conclusion that schools can be most effective when the requisite familial and social supports are provided outside the school. As American education experts keep trying new approaches to teaching they will only succeed when they look toward the homes.